With two teams in the NCAA Field Hockey Championship for the first time since 2000, America East representatives Albany and Stanford both dropped close first-round contests on Saturday.
The eight-ranked Great Danes, the conference champion, fell, 2-1, to Boston College at UConn. The Eagles scored twice in the first six minutes of the game and carried a 2-0 lead into the second half. America East Midfielder of the Year, Paula Heuser, scored with 16 minutes left for the Great Danes to cut the deficit to one, but the Eagles held off Albany’s second-half charge to advance to the second round.
13th-ranked Stanford, which received one of eight at-large bids, lost to Duke, 1-0 in overtime, at Virginia. America East Goalkeeper of the Year Dulcie Davies made six saves to keep the Cardinal in the game and force overtime. After an apparent Stanford goal was called off, the Blue Devils converted off a corner 3:44 into the extra session to move on in the tournament.
America East joined the ACC and Big Ten as the only conferences to send multiple teams to the tournament.